“He wasn’t doing good (Friday). We talked a lot,” said Helton, whose daughter, Tierney, is seven weeks younger than Madison. “What do you say? Nothing is going to make him feel any better with his child going through this. All you can do is let him know that you are there for him, that his team is there for him.”

Hurdle returned to Denver on Saturday morning, joining wife, Karla, at Children’s Hospital. It has been an agonizing three days, with Madison, born with Prader-Willi Syndrome, suffering multiple seizures. Talking about his “little girl” Friday night, Hurdle nearly cried when asking for any extra prayers.

The cause of the seizures, which continued Saturday, had not been determined as of late Saturday night. Rockies team president Keli McGregor, who sat with Karla at the hospital Friday, and general manager Dan O’Dowd encouraged Hurdle to return home.

“Absolutely it’s weighing on him, but he’s handling it unbelievably well,” said bench coach Jamie Quirk, in charge of the team Saturday before leaving today for his son’s high school graduation. “The uncertainty is the most difficult part.

“He believes in and loves Children’s (Hospital) so much that he knows they will find out what’s wrong.”

Hurdle has long been active at Children’s since joining the Rockies’ big-league staff in 1997, visiting patients on countless occasions and working charity events. He was back Saturday just five months after a frightening health crisis with newborn son Christian.

On Christmas Day, Christian awoke with flu symptoms and ended up in a life-threatening situation. His left lung collapsed and he developed pneumonia, leaving him sedated with a ventilator breathing for him for nine days. He made a strong recovery, joining the family in spring training.

Hurdle took a call during batting practice Friday regarding his daughter’s condition. He received updates during the game and was prepared to leave but a flight wasn’t available.

He told the team of the situation in a pregame meeting, then gathered the players again after the 9-4 loss to tell them he was going back to Denver.

“Family is the most important thing,” outfielder Brad Hawpe said. “He’s where he’s supposed to be.”

It has been a difficult season for the Rockies off the field. During spring training, pitcher Joe Kennedy’s wife suffered a miscarriage, and Hawpe’s wife was hospitalized a week ago after developing a blood clot.

“It’s hard, because you don’t know exactly what he’s going through,” Kennedy said. “We are his second family, but he’s doing the right thing taking care of his first family.”

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

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